Couches de Couleurs with Eyeliner

Yesterday i waxed rhapsodic over my Le Metier de Beaute Melange de Couleur palette, and promised another look using the Couches de Couleurs technique, LMdB's "proprietary" method of applying eyeshadow. I use the quotations with a touch of smarminess because truly, makeup artists have been blending, layering and smudging colours on the eyelid to achieve a wash of complex gradient colour since - well, since i started as a makeup artist, which was back in the Time of the Dinosaurs (the late 1980's).

However, before LMdB, no makeup company brought it into the light, embraced it and incorporated it into their company image the way LMdB has.

And they rock the Hell out of it.

And what they did for me was to remind me that makeup doesn't have to make one look like one has a "walking art installation" (thank you for that one, Mikey Castillo of LMdB) on one's eyelids to be fresh, unique and creative.
Now, i love a creative, Siouxie Sioux inspired eye as much as the next girl - even if a dismally depressing number of these people don't even know she's the public figure who single-handedly, with her black-painted talons glistening, brought the look into popularity back in the early 80's. And of course, she was in turn inspired by the Egyptian eye-makeup from back before even my time...

But i digress.

My point is, as much as i enjoy seeing all these eye-looks with the glitter and 7 blocked-out primary colours and 3 different eyeliners (i really do), and as fun as they are to do, i think women - especially women Of A Certain Age, or women who need to be able to spend less than an hour on their eyes and have makeup suitable for a Functioning Adult with a Job for that matter - need to see looks that are both creative AND wearable. AND relatively easy to achieve.

Thusly, today's FOTD:

Now, i used a black liquid eyeliner for this look, because i wanted to test/review this specific product with today's post, but pencil or gel will certainly work - and would perhaps be more appropriate for many women for day/office. That's easily done, and feel free to improvise as you will. Another option, the IDEAL option in my book would be the LMdB Precision Liquid Eyeliner in Noir, as it has a lovely soft finish that is impossible to really describe very well, but is simply amazing and appropriate for any look, day or night as it's build-able and amazing like that. However, i don't have mine with me at the moment because i packed some of my makeup (along with most of my other possessions) and sent it off with Husband when he went on ahead to Black Mountain.

Sadnow.

But, upwards and onwards!
The main focus of this post is the LMdB eyeshadows and the Couches de Couleurs technique i talked about yesterday. Now,this technique is actually ideal for women who are pressed for time and/or have limited tools to work with. One can feasibly do the entire eye with two brushes - a laydown brush and an eyeliner or push-brush for the lower-lid. And it's so easy, anybody - and i mean anybody - can achieve this look in just a few minutes with minimum experience, time or effort.

Who doesn't love that?

Plus, it's super-pretty on anyone, but in particular for women with aging lids. You aren't messing about with crease or V work, you can use any colours you want, and the end-result is soft, gorgeous and brings attention to your EYES, not your eye makeup.

So. Let's begin.
I used three colours today from the Melange de Couleurs palette:

To start, i lay down a base of a soft gold shadow. I used Gold (#1), using a medium-sized laydown brush, pressing the pigment into the lid right at the lash line and lid, so the shadow is packed most densely at the lashes. Then, when the colour is good and pressed in, take that same brush and blend upwards to the browbone. This will create an ombre effect that is really gorgeous, almost giving the illusion of using two different gold eyeshadows.
Then, apply at the lower lash-line using your smaller brush.

Me in all my no-foundation, no-eyebrowed glory...

Next, i took Amethyst (#2) and repeated the entire process. The result is surprisingly soft, beautiful and beautifully complex:

As you can see, by the time you've brought the shadow up to the browbone, it's so diffuse as to look like a highlight colour!
And just to be different, i took the third shade, Rose (#3), and just blended really well it right at the occipital-bone - i.e. just on the bone of the crease, buffing it up to the browbone.

And then, we're ready for brows and eyeliner! For this look, i decided to go with a bit of a dramatic cat-eye; but you can, as i mentioned, use a softer look, just lining the upper-lids and lower with a pencil, leaving out the wing altogether.
Today, i used L'Oreal 12-Hour Infallible Super Slim liquid liner in Black. I've had it on for a few hours now, and aside from a bit of transfer to the waterline (not necessarily a bad thing, it just gives it more of a smokey look), it's stayed absolutely put with no fading or peeling. The tip is ultra-fine, tapering into a thicker brush towards the base so it's easy to get a really thin line on the lower-lashes, but can be built up and thickened out to a cat-eye with ease. The brush is a bit longer than i'm used to, but it wasn't untenable. It's ultra-black with a slightly glossy finish. Very pretty.

On the lashes, i've used Rimmel ScandalEyes Lycra Flex mascara in Extreme Black. I'm really loving this mascara - the brush is a bit of a monster, but it's easily build-able and gives an almost fake-eyelash effect. It's also not budging, which is good because my eyes water a lot and mascara and i sometimes have...issues.

Finally, on my brows i used my MAC brow automatic pencil in Fling.

And...Voila!

Perhaps i'm being a bit too Precious, but i think this eyeshadow looks like a bloody sunset on the lids! It's just beautiful. And SO easy. No contouring, no highlighting. Just layering colours and packing on/blending upwards.

I happen to like the dramatic liner, but i have the sort of job which allows me to do my makeup however i bloody-well please, which makes me lucky. It's easy to make this look a bit more conservative, as i mentioned earlier. Then it would be easy enough to whip on a more dramatic liner for evening, if you wanted.

Now for the rest of the face, i went with my trusty RBR blush in Delicata, then a layered nude lip - following the whole Couches de Couleurs technique, i applied two contrasting shades on my lips to create dimension and softness: